Singapore grants one-off property tax rebate for all owner-occupiers in 2026

[SINGAPORE] Singapore homeowners will get a one-off property tax rebate in 2026 to cushion recent property tax hikes, in the third straight year that the government has offered such a rebate.   

Owner-occupiers of Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats will receive a tax rebate of 15 per cent, and those of private residential properties, 10 per cent, with the rebate capped at S$500. 

The tax relief will ease the impact of property tax increases amid a “moderating residential rental market with modest increases in market rents”, said the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) in a press release on Friday (Nov 28). 

Property taxes are calculated based on annual values (AVs), which are revised yearly based on the estimated annual rent if the property was rented out. 

In Budget 2022, the government raised property tax rates for higher-end owner-occupied homes and all non-owner-occupied homes as a form of wealth tax. This was implemented in two steps, over 2023 and 2024. 

But with market rents having been on the rise since 2022, AVs have risen in tandem. 

From Jan 1, authorities revised AV bands for owner-occupied residential properties upwards – with the lowest threshold raised to S$12,000 from S$8,000, and the highest band raised to over S$140,000 from S$100,000. 

With the change, MOF said homeowners can expect to pay the same or lower in property taxes. This is assuming their property’s AV remains the same, and before factoring in any rebates. 

Large proportion of homeowners to benefit

The latest rebate will mean that owners of three-room and larger HDB flats will pay an additional S$2 to S$3 more in monthly property tax, said MOF and Iras on Friday. Those of one and two-room flats will continue paying no property tax. 

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Meanwhile, half of Singapore’s private homeowners will see an increase of less than S$6 a month in property tax, they said. “The rest will see higher (property tax) increases, and these are generally higher-value private properties.” 

Owners of investment properties will not get a rebate for their non-owner-occupied properties.

This will benefit a large proportion of Singapore homeowners, given that around 90 per cent are owner-occupiers, said Eugene Lim, ERA key executive officer.

“To qualify for the full S$500 rebate, a HDB flat and a private property must have an (AV of about) S$66,100 and S$80,600, respectively.”

Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at Mogul.sg, noted that there were 1,096 rental contracts with monthly rents of over S$10,000 in District 9, and 1,833 of such contracts in District 10.

The AVs of homes in these areas will consequently be much higher, so homeowners there may not benefit as much from the rebates, he said.

Amid stronger luxury home demand

In 2024, owner-occupiers of three-room or larger HDB flats received rebates of 30 to 70 per cent, while private-property owner-occupiers got a 15 per cent rebate, capped at S$1,000.

In 2025, owners of HDB flats were given a rebate of 20 per cent, and those of private properties a rebate of 15 per cent, capped at S$1,000. 

Mak reckons that the lower tax rebates for 2026 were intended to smooth what would otherwise be a sharp increase in taxes for households, especially private homeowners. 

“(I wouldn’t be) surprised if next year’s rebate is even lower,” he added. 

These adjustments come at a time when interest in luxury homes has strengthened, added Mohan Sandrasegeran, SRI head of research and data analytics. 

In the prime Core Central Region, developers sold 903 new homes in the third quarter – the highest recorded in a quarter since Q4 2010, when 994 units changed hands. 

“This shows that demand at the upper end of the market remains resilient, and the calibrated tax structure continues to support a healthy level of activity across segments,” said Sandrasegeran. 

Government data showed that the median AV of non-landed private homes, including executive condominiums, was S$33,600 in 2024, and S$49,200 for landed homes. 

For HDB flats, the median AV of one- or two-room apartments was S$8,460. It was S$12,660 for three-room flats, S$16,320 for four-room flats, S$17,700 for five-room flats, and S$18,360 for executive and other types of flats. 

According to Iras’ property tax calculator, an owner-occupier of a private home with an AV of S$33,600 would have a property tax of around S$860 in 2025, excluding any rebates.

In comparison, an owner-occupier of a HDB flat with an AV of S$18,360 would have a property tax of about S$250, excluding rebates.

In FY2024, revenue from property taxes accounted for 5.7 per cent of the government’s operating revenue, or S$6.7 billion. This is estimated to increase to S$6.89 billion in FY2025.